Demand Reform for Outdated Privacy Laws

If the government wants to track our cell phones, or see what web sites we’ve visited, or rummage through our Gmail, or read our private messages on Facebook, the Constitution requires it to go to a judge and get a search warrant based on probable cause. Right now, there’s a law on the books that doesn’t make that requirement clear—and it's time we demand a privacy upgrade.

The government should be explicitly required to go to a judge and get a warrant before it can read our email, access private photographs and documents we store online, or track our location using our mobile phones. Please support HR 1852 The Email Privacy Act, which would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) to make crystal clear that warrants are required before the government can access this sensitive information.

ECPA was forward-looking when it was signed into law in October of 1986, considering that the World Wide Web hadn't even been invented yet. But now ECPA has become outdated. The privacy standards that it applies to new technologies are unclear and weak. For example, the law doesn't specifically address cell phone location tracking at all, and it purports to allow the government to seize some categories of emails without ever having to go to a judge. Meanwhile, no one is perfectly sure how it applies to newer online services like social networks and search engines.

This gap between the law and the technology ultimately leaves us all at risk.

Take this action to send a message to your Representatives demanding they sponsor HR 1852, The Email Privacy Act, which ensures the government obtains a warrant before it starts snooping on your emails and conversations.

If the government wants to track our cell phones, or see what web sites we’ve visited, or rummage through our Gmail, or read our private messages on Facebook, it should be required to go to a judge and get a search warrant based on probable cause. Right now, that's not the case—and it's time we demand a privacy upgrade.

The government should be required to go to a judge and get a warrant before it can read our email, access private photographs and documents we store online, or track our location using our mobile phones. Please support HR 1852 The Email Privacy Act, which would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) to require warrants for this sensitive information.

ECPA was forward-looking when it was signed into law in October of 1986, considering that the World Wide Web hadn't even been invented yet. But now ECPA has become outdated. The privacy standards that it applies to new technologies are unclear and weak. For example, the law doesn't specifically address cell phone location tracking at all, and it allows the government to seize most emails without ever having to go to a judge. Meanwhile, no one is perfectly sure how it applies to newer online services like social networks and search engines.

This gap between the law and the technology ultimately leaves us all at risk.

Take this action to send a message to your Representatives demanding they sponsor HR 1852, The Email Privacy Act, which ensures the government obtains a warrant before it starts snooping on your emails and conversations.